The 25 Days of Holiday Goodies Day 11: Spinach Artichoke Dip Bread

Have you ever had one of those times when you needed an appetizer and you couldn’t simply bring cream cheese, pepper jelly, and crackers.

This is the appetizer for those times. When a reader suggested this recipe to try from Reddit, I was more than intrigued. I was hooked. I mean, it takes out the mayo from traditional Spinach and Artichoke Dip (which normally I love mayonnaise, but I’m not fond of it heated up) and substitutes with straight-up cream cheese. And anything with artichoke hearts is amazing. I feel this need to try a recipe for artichoke heart ice cream. Just kidding.

No, really. Does anyone have a recipe for that? I would SO try it!

Muffin slept through the consumption of this recipe when I made it, so I can’t guarantee it would be Muffin Approved. I served it awhile back with the Cannelloni for Josh’s and my anniversary.

Josh loved it; in fact, he took the remaining pieces the next day in his lunch and warmed them up in his little cooker in his van. He said they heated up really well, but I wouldn’t recommend them for microwave reheating. Bread reheating in the microwave usually doesn’t go well.

But here’s what I did:

Spinach Artichoke Dip Bread (Adapted from Reddit)

1 baguette, divided in quarters and hollowed using a sharp serrated knife

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped

1 (10-ounce) pkg. frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1 (8-ounce) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

3 Tablespoons butter, melted

3 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 tablespoons finely minced parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together cream cheese, spinach, artichoke hearts, mozzarella, salt, and pepper. Using a spoon, stuff the quarters of baguette with the mixture. Reserve the remaining filling to eat with crackers (microwaved for a bit for extra gooeyness). Divide each quarter into fourths so that you have 16 gooey pieces. On a sheet of heavy duty foil, arrage the baguette slices back to their original shape. Mix together the butter, garlic, and parsley. Drizzle (or use a pastry brush to paint the surface of the baguette) the butter mixture on the baguette. Wrap the baguette in foil. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes. Serve hot-to-warm.